Oxygen is essential for sophisticated life on Earth, especially aquatic life such as fish and zooplankton. However, according to a new study published in the journal Nature, oxygen concentrations in lakes worldwide are decreasing, posing a threat to the organisms that dwell in those bodies of water (and the rest of us, too). “A lot…
A significant increase in radiation intensity on the cosmic horizon scale might have caused certain tiny areas to act as closed universes in the early universe, sealing their fate in isolated black hole collapses.The usual changes in the cosmic microwave background radiation that are measured have an initial amplitude that is a hundred thousand times…
Its award-winning and the opulent menu is traditionally heavy on meat and dairy, with dishes like butter-poached lobster tails and celery roots in pig’s bladder among the highlights. However, the restaurant stated in the spring that it would reopen with a vegan menu. Other well-known restaurants have gone vegan, including Michelin-starred French chef Alexis Gauthier,…
The current coronavirus pandemic may not appear to be an apparent catalyst for contemplating biological transcendence. But the weird thing is that we’ve been inadvertent participants in exactly such an event in our response to this crisis. The concept of transcendence has existed for a long time, under several names and guises. It captures the…
The future of coral does not appear to be bright. Reef-building creatures, which provide the living architecture for some of the world’s most varied ecosystems, are susceptible to climate change and have already suffered significant losses. Their future is becoming increasingly bleak unless they can achieve significant carbon reductions in the following decade.That isn’t to…
I’ve been invited to speak with well-known writers, singers, and film producers about my new book, Extraterrestrial, during the last several months. Before our chats, I had been the recipient (and admirer) of their creative work, but suddenly they were interested in my scientific studies. These discussions prompted me to see parallels between art and…
The need for low-waste items develops as our knowledge of how much plastic we waste develops, particularly in the form of plastic-free establishments like Precycle in Brooklyn. The internet is loaded with videos and stories about individuals who have embarked on a low-waste or waste-free trip in the hopes of reducing the amount of rubbish…
Montrose Point Park in Chicago appears to be a tiny area of green surrounded by miles of urban and suburban sprawl. Thus it doesn’t seem to be a pollinator haven. Doing so is Medewin National Tall Grass Prairie, a protected and restored preserve located more than fifty miles from the city’s pollution and activity. When…
Remember this when the world becomes lonely: we’re all marinating in a communal cauldron of microbial life. For the most critical part, this is a positive thing. You may have heard of the human gut microbiome, a community of microscopic organisms in our digestive system that might impact our health in still-unknown ways. Still, cities,…
You could get lucky and see a “wandering meatloaf,” a circular reddish-brown mollusk also known as the gumboot chiton or, more technically, Cryptochiton stelleri, if you scour the North Pacific shorelines. With its little but extremely gritty teeth, it trudges along coastlines scraping algae off rocks. Scientists discovered that the stylus (the long, hollow structure…